Practical information

Getting your visa

Who needs a visa?

Foreign nationals wishing to travel to India are required to possess a valid passport of their country and a valid Indian visa. However, nationals of Nepal and Bhutan do not require visa to enter India and nationals of Maldives do not require visa for entry in India for a period up to 90 days.

What kind of visa should I get?

In most cases a tourist visa will be sufficient to enter the country, and the procedure to get it is quite simple. However, conference visa is also applicable for IPC India event.

How do I apply for visa?

You can apply for tourist visa either by visiting the office of Indian Embassy/High Commission/Consulate in the country where you reside or apply for online e-Tourist visa. At present, e-Tourist visa facility is available to citizens of 162 countries. You can access the list here. To apply for e-Tourist visa, please follow this website. Tourist visa on arrival is available to nationals from 11 countries: Japan, Singapore, Philippines, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia. You can find more details about Tourist visa on arrival here.

If you wish to get a Conference Visa, please share the following information with us. We are in touch with the Indian Missions abroad and Ministry of External Affairs to get the clearances for the event.

S. No.

Name

Father’s/ Husband’s name

Date of birth

Nationality & Passport No.

Date of issue

Place of issue

Date of expiry

Address

To know more details about conference visa, please read the information here.

Who can I contact in IPC India if I have questions for visa?

You can write to ipcindia2017 [at] permacultureindia [dot] org if you have any questions.

Your stay at the Convergence farm: Things to bring

In your luggage for Polam farm...

For some of you, your stay at Polam will be your first time in Telangana or India for that matter. Let us give you some indications about what you need to bring and think of for the Convergence. As for the others who already know, take it as a refresher. November/December are winter months in India, and the average temperatures at the farm will go around 21/22°C (72/73°F) - the most favorable season for practicals on the farm and comfortable sleep. It might get chilly though, especially during the nights.

First advice: Prefer carrying backpacks than hard shell suitcases as there is a fair amount of walk to reach the lodging area (approximately 300 meters) from the drop off point.

Apart from your open mind and positive attitude, don’t forget to bring:

Your own tent (if you selected “Participant’s own tent” during your registration)

Speaking about clothes, let’s keep the Indian culture and habits in mind, as there will be local people attending the Convergence too. Dear ladies, opt for pants and dresses below knee length. It may be a bit too chilly during that period of the year to wear short clothes in any case.

Towards a zero-waste event…

Although Permaculture includes the most varied and inventive waste management practices, we would all agree that it is even better to avoid waste as much as we can. We count on you to make IPC India 2017 a zero-waste event! You can add to your luggage:

Your own garbage disposal bags

Organic cosmetics (soaps, shampoo, toothpaste, etc)

A water bottle (you will be able to refill it with drinking water regularly on-site)

Avoid carrying anything in plastic as much as possible including pre-packaged foods

Communication tips

Internet at the venue farm is not available for everyone to use. If you have or get an Indian SIM card by Airtel, Idea and Reliance, you might be able to access internet in certain areas of the farm. The surest way to get internet is to bring your own accessibility device (Airtel, Idea, Reliance are some Indian service brands that work here at 2G-3G speeds).

Apart from special cases, our best advice in that matter would be, of course, to take a break from the virtual world for five days, and enjoy the Convergence week without constraints!

Last tip...

You’re most welcome to bring books, CDs, heirloom seeds and anything else that you would like to share with the Permaculture community here. Dear International participants, please check what seeds are legal to be carried across international borders. We don’t want you to get into any trouble because of us! :)

We can’t wait to see you there!

How to get there

Whether you are attending the Conference or the Convergence only, your meeting point will be the Conference auditorium. Only on November 27th, a bus to the Convergence venue, Polam farm, will be organised.

To reach the Conference venue, you need to arrive at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad or at any of Hyderabad train/bus stations. Then, you can either reach the venue by cab or follow the instructions below:

Directions to the Conference venue by public transport:

Bus stop: AG University Main Gate Bus Stop

From airport: public bus to the entrance arch on NH7
Buses to Hyderabad city from the airport pass and stop at the University Arch. Buses going to Koti, Mehdipatnam, ECIL etc all stop at the University Arch.
There will be auto rickshaws available from this point. Please see directions below.

1. As you enter the Agricultural University through the arch, follow main approach road for about 800 meters. Find Prof Jayashankar’s statue where road curves to the right.

2. About 1km to the left is the - “University Auditorium”.

Directions to the Conference venue by own transport:

From Mehdipatnam - Attapur - Rajendranagar Road

1. After crossing Attapur keep going towards Rajendranagar. There is a traffic signal under the PVNR elevated expressway between pillar numbers 216 and 217.

2. Near this signal take Right from under PVNR elevated expressway. As you enter the Rajendra Nagar road to the Left is Directorate of Poultry Research.

3. After this you will find PJTS Agricultural University entrance Arch on left side. You will see Arch opposite to water tank.

4. Directions to University Auditorium: (1 km from the arch): Take a left through the arch after 500 meters there is a gate to the right. Pass through that gate. Keep going straight for 500 meters to reach the University Auditorium on right side after University Sports Ground.